Process begins to construct NYC’s four new jails

A rendering of the Kew Gardens jail. Photo via the Mayor’s Office.

By David Brand

The process for building a new jail in every borough but Staten Island has begun and the city expects to evaluate proposals starting early next year, according to a schedule provided to construction industry firms at an event Wednesday.

The city will begin fielding responses to its request for qualifying offers for the four so-called “borough-based” jails in the first three months of 2020, according to a schedule shared by the city’s Department of Design and Construction. That includes RFQs for a new jail that will rise 195 feet behind the Queens Criminal Courthouse. The other three jails will be located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; Manhattan’s Chinatown; and Mott Haven in the Bronx.

A final request for proposal for construction of the Queens jail will be issued in the fourth quarter of 2021 after a qualifying process, according to the DDC schedule. The Brooklyn jail RFP will open in the second quarter of 2021, the Manhattan jail in the second quarter of 2020 and the Bronx jail in the third quarter of 2020.

The city will begin considering proposals for a new parking garage in Kew Gardens adjacent to the site of the jail in the first three months of 2020.

The RFPs for the seven total projects will be open to up to three vendors that city deems eligible after evaluating their statement of qualifications. The selected firms will then contract with the city’s Design-Build teams to demolish existing facilities — including the dormant Queens House of Detention — and construct the four new facilities. 

“In evaluating responses from firms that want to contract with us, DDC will emphasize a proven history of exceptional performance along with good labor relations and the ability to meet important diversity goals, while seeking innovative designs that will become civic assets in the years to come.” said DDC Commissioner Lorraine Grillo in a statement.

The four new jails are a key part of the city’s mission to close the outdated detention facilities on Rikers Island. After a contentious, yearslong planning process, the city council approved the land use application for the four jails last month. The council will vote next year on a separate proposal for changing the city map to ban jails on Rikers.

Correction: A previous version of this article referred to a bidding process. The process is “design-build” and therefore does not involve bidding.